The present invention relates to disc drive assemblies. In particular, the present invention relates to a stacked actuator assembly including a spring for axially clamping the plurality of actuator arms between first and second axially fixed members.
Disc drives are commonly used with computers to store data on concentric tracks defined in magnetic codings formed on magnetic discs. The discs are attached to a rotating spindle which is powered by a spindle motor. Data is written to and read from selected tracks on a disc by a read/write transducer head. A pivotally mounted actuator supports the transducer head and moves the transducer head across the disc when the head is reading from or writing to the disc.
Pivotally mounted actuators typically include arms which extend from a central hub about which the actuator rotates or pivots. Actuators typically comprise what is known as a unitary E-block assembly wherein the actuator arms are integrally formed as part of the hub or a stacked arrangement in which each individual arm is stacked about a central hub. To prevent slipping of individual arms or other components in a stacked actuator, nuts or screws are typically used to fix the arms in proper alignment. However, rotation of the nuts or screws induces rotational forces which may cause alignment difficulties during assembly. In addition, misalignment of the individual actuator arms often results from thermal shifting after assembly. Misalignment of the actuator arms causes data reading and writing errors. As a result, there is a continuing need for a method and apparatus for fixing and reliably maintaining actuator arms of a stacked actuator in proper alignment.